Kyuuketsuki Sentai Bloodranger
by Neon Genesis Guyver III
Summary: For ages, vampires have ruled the creatures of the night. Now, the Lycanthropes plot rebellion. Only Five protect the Statis Quo. Will mankind survive this war of Darkness? Ch2 Finally Available!
1. Night 1

Disclaimer: Super Sentai and all related elements are the property of Toei. The writer makes no profit on the contents of this story.

Warning: The contents of these stories do and will continue to contain explicit materials, including detailed descriptions of violence, gore, some nudity and pervasive language. Reader discretion is advised.

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><p>If nothing else, Ijirashii Riku learned in school. That was about it. As a social failure, Riku's school days were filled only with facts and figures. No friends, no sports, certainly no girls. He was a stereotypical dork in glasses. He loved anime and manga and still watched Tokusatsu. He didn't necessarily like this, but he was willing to live with it. After all, what choice did he have?<p>

Riku was studious; that was also undeniable. He took cram courses after school with no complaints. He had nothing better to do with his time. These classes tended to run well into the night.

It was one such night that Riku's lonely life came to a rather violent end.

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><p><em>Kyuuketsuki Sentai<em>

_**BloodRanger**_

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><p>Night 1<p>

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><p>Rebellion of Darkness; Revealed BloodRanger<p>

Riku had noticed her the moment he entered class. How could he not, she stuck out like a sore thumb. First was the pair of long, blonde-dyed pony-tails. Lengths of her long hair jutted from the sides of her head and curled down. Her clothes didn't help much either. Everyone else was dressed casually, but their clothes weren't nearly as glaring. She wore a bright yellow vest over a sparkly pink top and a pink miniskirt. What's more, she seemed to be ignoring everything around her quite fervently; bopping her head to a tune playing on her Ipod.

Riku sat behind the girl, trying not to notice her jerking her head to the music. The professor; a lanky, bespectacled individual; came in and greeted the students. He began the session, going over the information that Riku and the others would need for their exams. Riku paid avid attention, but still found himself distracted by the blonde before him, still listening to her music. It seemed harmless enough, though he wondered why she bothered coming to a night course if she wasn't going to pay attention.

Suddenly, she popped up from her seat and began bopping more. Riku could only guess the song was coming to a high point, but that didn't mean she had to be so overt about it.

"YEAH!" She shouted, distracting the whole class.

The teacher scratched the chalk against the board in surprise. Until now, he'd ignored the girl. Most students that came to these things, he'd found, were forced by their families and used it as time to slack-off. He didn't really care, but he wanted a little respect for doing this. At the very least, he wanted quiet.

The girl looked around, seemingly oblivious to everything that had transpired.

The teacher walked up to her. "Miss…" he said with a hint of impatience, "I don't care if you want to waste your time here. But, I must ask that you not disrupt this class."

"Oh!" the girl said, seemingly surprised. "I'm sorry. I guess I got carried away."

"I suggest," the teacher continued, "that if you want to continue slacking off here, you find a means of distraction that is not liable to send you screaming."

"But sensei," she said, her voice dripping with false innocence. "I don't know what you mean. I've been paying complete attention the entire time."

Riku became confused by this. Was she trying to be funny? Why was she wasting time like this?

"Look, Miss," the teacher said, "I may not be able to throw you out; but that doesn't mean I have to take your sarcasm."

"I'm not being sarcastic," she said, making an indignant pout. "I've heard every word."

"Look here…" But the teacher was cut off. The girl had shoved her notebook in front of his face. "W-What?"

"See?" she said, smiling widely.

The teacher pushed up his glasses and began studing the notes. Riku could tell by his expression that, shockingly, she was telling the truth.

"Th… This is…" the man stuttered, "…completely accurate."

She nodded. "Impressed? I was the best note-taker in my class."

The other students laughed out loud at this situation. The room had exploded in laughter. Even Riku, despite himself, actually laughed at the girl's antics.

Flustered, the teacher returned to the front of the class and resumed his lecture. The girl sat again and returned to bopping to the beat of her Ipod. Chancing a glance back at her, the teacher saw the look on the girl's face. He saw, what he could only describe as, the most evil looking smile he had ever seen.

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><p>After the class was done, Riku began his walk home. Strangely, the girl was in front of him, on the same path as he was. Every turn he made towards his home, she turned just before him. It was strange that this person that he'd never seen before was taking the exact same path as him. Halfway home, under a street light, the girl stopped in front of him, causing him to stop too.<p>

She turned on her heel and looked at him with an angry glair. "What the hell is your problem, Perv!"

"W-what?" Riku replied, stunned.

"You've been following me all the way from the school!" She said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Are you some kind of creepy stalker? Are you planning to follow me home and rape me?"

"N-no!" Riku said, panicky. "I-I swear! I walk this way every day!"

Faster than anything, the girl's expression changed from anger to humor, as she began laughing. Riku, once again, was in complete stunned confusion.

"God! The people in this town are easy!" She exclaimed through her laughter. "You should see the look on your face right now!"

Now it was Riku's turn to look indignant. "Hey!" He said. "That's not very funny. What if someone had heard all that?"

"Relax kid," she said. "Look around. There's nobody around to hear us."

Riku looked about. It was true, the street they were on was clear.

"Honestly, I thought you had a sense of humor," she said. "You laughed when I got the teacher."

"Well," Riku muttered. "Everyone laughed at that. But that doesn't mean I like being accused of stalking!"

The girl nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I guess that's true. I'm sorry." She held out a hand apologetically. "I'm Veria Saki."

Riku, hesitantly, accepted the handshake. "Ijirashii Riku."

"Nice to meet you," Saki said. "And I'm really sorry about the gag. I just like a good laugh."

"I can tell," Riku said. As they broke the shake, he shook his hand about. "You're hands are kind of cold."

There was an almost sad look in her eye as she looked at her hand. "I know." Again, her emotions took a rapid turn as she once again had a happy face. "So, you go to night classes a lot?"

"Yeah," Riku replied, as the two began to continue their walk. "How about you?"

"Nah!" she replied. "I just wanted to have a laugh. I planned that whole gag from the beginning. Totally worth it!"

Riku chuckled under his breath at the memory.

"See?" She said. "You do have a sense of humor."

"Do you go to school around here?" Riku asked.

She stuck out her tongue in a disgusted look. "I haven't gone to school in… forever."

Riku gave her an odd look. "You dropped out?"

"Not… exactly," She said cryptically.

They continued to converse all the way to Riku's apartment. He was honestly shocked that this strange girl was so interested in him. She asked about his life, his family; everything.

As they approached, Riku asked, "I was wondering; how did you know I was following you?"

"You weren't," she replied. "I was following you. It just looked like you were following me."

Riku was, once again, confused. "How were you…?"

"Ah-ah," Saki replied mischievously. "That's my little secret."

Riku shook his head. "Well, this is my apartment. Where do you live?"

"No where near here," she replied. "I should probably get going. Akira-sama won't be happy if I'm not back before dawn."

"Akira-sama?" Riku responded.

"Some other time Riku," she said. "See you later!" she said as she began to run off.

Riku looked on after the girl. As he made his way to the door, he shook his head. "See you later," he said. "Not likely."

* * *

><p>But, he did see her again. The next night, on his way into the class, she was standing outside the building. She talked him into skipping the course. It required almost no effort; something that surprised Riku, as he was usually highly motivated to study. He brushed it off as hormones. Saki was a very pretty girl, after all. Riku later reasoned he'd have been stupid to turn down spending time with anyone for studying.<p>

They continued most of that night doing exactly as they had the previous night. They talked their way through a shopping area in the city. As they walked, Saki noticed a cardboard display in the window of a DVD store. It was of a certain American vampire film that Riku really knew nothing about. She became visibly annoyed just looking at it.

"Not a fan?" Riku said, noticing her manner.

"It's insulting!" She exclaimed. "I'd like to turn that lady into a vampire and stick her under the sun! See how much she sparkles!"

Riku laughed. "It's weird how people take stuff like that so seriously."

Saki gave him an exasperated look. "You have no idea, kid!"

Riku continued to laugh, and, eventually, Saki found herself joining him in laughter. The two continued on, discussing things. Neither was aware of the glowing eyes following them on the rooftops.

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><p>"Saki," Riku said, as the two sat on a bench in the shopping area, looking up at the night sky.<p>

"Yeah?" She replied.

"Why are you hanging out with me?" he asked. "We don't even know each other. Why are you talking to me?"

"I don't know…" she said. "I really don't. There's no reason or anything. No plan. I just… I guess I just needed to talk to someone who didn't really know me."

"Why?"

"Maybe…" Saki began, hesitating. "Maybe… so I can forget, just for a little bit."

"Forget what?"

Saki didn't respond. Instead, she sniffed the air, quite noticeably. "Fuck!"

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, noticing the concerned look on her face.

"Riku, I'm sorry!" She said as she shot from her seat.

"Why?" Riku replied.

"Because, it's very likely you're going to die right now," She responded.

"What?" He exclaimed, standing up. "Saki, is this another of your jokes? Because, if it is, it's pretty bad."

"Fucking hell, I wish it was!" She said. "I'll try to protect you, but, if this gets really out of hand, I might accidentally kill you myself."

"Saki! This isn't…"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Riku turned to the sound of the scream. The screamer was a young woman. Before her was a dark, hairy shape. The shape stood before her for a few seconds, twitching sporadically, before lunging at the woman and tacking her to the ground. More creatures dropped from the rooftops and attacked other shop goers. Many ran off, but quite a few were literally being torn apart by the monsters attacking them. Riku looked about at the rapidly growing chaos, then found his attention drawn back to the woman, who was not far from him and Saki. The thing attacking her began to raise up, a pool of blood dripping from its victim's neck. Blood also dripped from it's long, protruding incisors. To Riku, the thing looked like a giant, humanoid Rat! The creature cried out in a high-pitched cry.

Saki stood before Riku and held her arm out before him defensively.

"Saki!" He said, "We need to…"

He stopped. He looked at her eyes. Before, those eyes were a pleasant hazel brown color. Now, everything but the pupils, even the corneas, was blood-red. He had no idea what to think, seeing that. _What the hell was going on?_ He thought.

"LYCANTHROPES!" She shouted. "You have broken the sacred Code of the Dark! You attack humans in public! Why have you done this?"

"_Who asks?"_

From the gathered crowd of rat-men, there emerged a mildly obese fellow with large grey eyes that were noticeable, even from a distance. He wore an overcoat over his body and had a rather large grin plastered across his face.

"I am Lady Veria Saki," She replied. "Vassal of the house of Dracul; Member of the Clan of the Hunting Wolf; Warrior of the King's Royal Guard and Member in-good-standing of the Counsel of Four Clans. In short; I'm a woman you don't fuck around with!"

Riku stared awkwardly at Saki. This was so unlike the girl he had met the previous night. She was so stern; commanding. This whole situation was flying over his head.

"_Ah," _the man replied. _"One of the higher ups. What a pleasure. We've been tracking you all night, but we never suspected you were one of The Four."_

"Answer me, vermin!" She demanded.

"_We're here," _he continued. _"To declare the intent of our King!"_

"King?" She replied. "Shifters don't have a fucking king! All creatures are under the jurisdiction of THE King!"

The man chuckled. _"Not any more, bloody. And now, to show honor to the new King of the Dark, we will serve your head on a silver platter!"_

A dark aura surrounded the man as his coat began to tear. The face of the man grew large amounts of hear in an instant, and his features morphed into that of a cat. In just seconds, the man was replaced by a seven foot tall humanoid cat, that growled into the night.

"S-Saki…" Riku muttered, terrified out of his mind. "What is all this?"

"Stay behind me Riku," She said gently. "This is where the shit hit's the fan!"

"_KILL THE FUCKING BLOODY!"_ the cat monster roared.

The Rats all ran at the girl. Before they attacked, seemingly from nowhere, Saki pulled out a pair of short-handled sickles with wolf-shaped ornamentation where the metal met the handle and swiped at the pack. The first two in line spurted blood from massive wounds, as the others retreated a step.

"What the Fuck!" She said, gouging another beast that jumped from the side. "What the hell do you think you are?" She impaled another to her left. "How high in the food chain do you think you are?" Two more, decapitated. "What the fuck do you Think I Am?" She flipped the blades in her hands and shoved them up into the ribcage of one of them and lifted it over her head. "I'm a Fucking VAMPIRE, BITCH!" She then, literally, tore the beast in half, sending its blood an guts all over. "And I'm higher on the chain than all of you!"

"Vampire?" Riku muttered. "Did she say… Vampire?"

Saki continued slaying the rat-things until she got to the Cat. She swiped at him, but he caught her arm and slammed her into a wall. She tried to attack again, but he continued to counter and knocked her back.

"_Maybe we're not as low as you think, bloody!" _he hissed.

She smiled. "Wanna bet, shifter?"

She lunged at the beast. In an instant, she seemed to explode into a mass of yellow. Riku was taken aback by this, as what was Saki tackled the monster and began striking at him. He soon realized that the yellow had a solid shape, and that it looked like a large dog. _A wolf?_ He shook his head. _This is nuts,_ he thought. _This can't be real. How can Saki really be a Vampire?_

The beast knocked the wolf-creature off of its body. She lunged again, but a good kick sent her right back at Riku. She reformed into a human as her body slammed into his, knocking them both down. She sat up, groaning lightly in pain, while Riku remained collapsed on the floor.

"_Enough games!" _the monster exclaimed._ "Kill the bloody Bitch, and her pet meat, too!"_

The Rats once again ran at the two. Saki raised her arms in defense, but found it unnecessary. The group of monsters all suddenly found themselves impaled through the brain by arrows.

"_What?"_ The cat exclaimed as it looked up.

Saki looked up too, and smiled at seeing a figure on the roof the a bow in his hand. The moonlight revealed a thin young man with a combed over hairstyle and a blue streak running through it, wearing a blue vest, black pants and a blue band running from his shoulder to his wrist.

"Ryuji-kun!" Saki exclaimed, returning to her feet.

"Saki-chan," the young man said casually, running a hand over his hair. "I cannot believe you're having such a problem with these vermin." He leaped down from the roof to stand at her side.

Another figure dropped down from above, crushing to rat creatures under him with an audible crunching of their bones. He was a muscular man who wore a green martial arts training gi, black slacks and a green headband below his spiky, straight up hair style.

"Kouki-chan!" she said again, happily.

The man nodded curtly, his face stern, "I am relieved to see you aren't hurt, Saki-san."

Another walked up the opposite side of the way. She was a, seemingly, teenaged girl with short-cut hair, wearing a highly stylish pink gown.

"Yumi-sama!" Saki said. "You're here too?"

"But of course," she said. "Even a Queen must be willing to do battle, Saki-chan. Especially if her husband plans to."

"You don't mean?"

"SAKI!" Riku exclaimed, jumping to his feet having regained his senses while the three new people appeared. "Who are these people?"

"Show Respect Human!" The man called Kouki exclaimed. "We are the Counsel of Four Clans! Feel honored to view even one of us and not be destined for death!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" Riku shouted, his frustration and confusion having grown out of control. "All this talk of Counsels and Vampires and I don't understand what is going on!" He stopped to catch his breath.

As he tried to calm himself, Riku heard something. It started off so softly he barely noticed it, but it was growing louder. It sounded like the hoof beats of horses, coming from behind him. He, and every living thing there, turned to see a fog rising from down the alley. From this fog emerged a horse drawn carriage. The carriage stopped before them, and the door opened. Instantly, Saki, Ryuji and Kouki all kneeled down, Saki dragging Riku down with her, while Yumi simply bowed her head. The creatures all growled in anger and fear as the occupant of the carriage stepped out.

Riku looked up. He saw a man before him. He wore a long, red cloak that shrouded him from his head to the ground. It came up to a rounded collar that encircled his face, hiding his features, leaving only his red eyes and his red-streaked hair.. There was a haunting air around this man; one that chilled Riku to his core.

"Who?" He whispered.

"I'm a vampire," Saki said curtly and quietly, "They're lycanthropes and HE is my King! Shut Up and show respect."

The four raised up, again, Saki, again, dragging Riku with her. With a snarl, one of the rats charged at the group. Immediately, Saki whirled and got between it and the King. She reached to the same place she had before for her weapons, but found that they weren't there. It took an instant to realize they had been dislodged when she fell, and in that same instant the rat was only a few feet in front of her. The others reacted but they weren't going to move fast enough. Saki closed her eyes and readied to make the ultimate sacrifice for her people.

She didn't have to.

The sound of tearing flesh caused her to open her eyes. Reacting unbelievably fast, Riku had gotten between Saki and the beast, thus taking it's sharpened claws in his stomach. The beast made to bite down on the boy, but an arrow from Ryuji finished the beast instantly. Saki stared, wide eyed, as the boy fell to the ground in front of her.

"RIKU!"

Ryuji, Kouki and Yumi all surrounded Riku and Saki as she knelt down to him.

"Any of you shifty bastards moves, it's my arrow and your brain!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Riku…" Saki muttered in distress as the boy in her arms breathed heavily. "Oh, god! This wasn't supposed to happen. You're just a kid. This doesn't involve you."

"Saki…" Riku muttered.

The king walked up to the girl. An arm emerged from his cloak, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Saki," he said. "It's time."

The girl nodded. "Yes, Akira-sama." She moved Riku to brace him against a wall. "Hold on," she said. "I promise, I'm going to fix this."

Riku coughed up blood, unable to respond to her.

Saki looked about and quickly found where the weapons had fallen. Saki stood, retrieved her weapons and joined the others. They all stood in a line beside the King.

"Lycanthropes," He said in a calm voice. "You have committed treasonous acts against creatures of higher rank. You have broken the Code of the Dark by showing yourselves in full view of humans. You have shown blatant contempt for authority and aggression to the crown. How to you plead?"

"_We no longer bow to the Bloody king!" _The cat proclaimed. _"ALL HAIL LUPUS REX! May He Reign Eternal!"_

"I'll view that as a confession," The king replied. "The penalty for treason; Termination. Everyone!" He raised his left arm, revealing a black armlet with a silver cross over it.

The others all raised their lefts, revealing identical devices. Riku, with all his energy, watched intently as the five struck their right hands to the armlets. At the center of each cross was a small, metal point which pierced the flesh of their hands when they touched it. The objects began to glow as drops of blood ran across their surfaces. The five then trust their left arms upwards and shouted, "_**BLOOD GEAR!"**_

Riku watched in shock as an astounding metamorphosis took place before him. Like before, Saki again became a yellow wolf-like thing, and Ryuji seemingly joined her, though his form was blue in color; Kouki and Yumi assumed bat-like shapes, green and pink respectively; while the king, Akira, seemed to simply dissolve into a red cloud of mist. Soon, black bands of a leather-like material began forming around each of them, binding each creature into a humanoid shape. While the four animal forms seemed to almost struggle against this, the mist simply filled in the bonds and slowly solidified. A solid black shape engulfed the heads of each creature, reducing the visible color into a stylized shape on the front of a full-faced helmet.

When it was done, the five stood before the beasts in a radically different form. Their bodies were made out in their mutual colors, with black bonds wrapping around them. The bonds formed gloves, boots, pants, and, on the women, corsets. On their chests were black patches marked with red symbols. On Saki and Ryuji's were the face of a wolf. On Yumi and Kouki's were the image of a bat. On Akira's was the image of blood dripping. The shapes on their helmets also came in sets. Saki and Ryuji's looked like animal mouths with four fangs. Yumi and Kouki were the same, but with only two. Akira's simply looked like a wispy flame. Aside from this, the only other noticeable difference is in their metal shoulder gaurds, in that Akira's jutted out from the shoulder while the others' formed to their's.

Riku, fading slowly, was astonished by the appearance of these five beings. _"A vampire… sentai?"_ he muttered. _"Kyuuketsuki… Sentai… Buraddo… renja…"_ These were his las t words before passing out.

"My guards," Akira said, raising his arm in a slow and somewhat menacing manner. "Kill them."

The warriors all nodded and ran at the monsters. Saki once again slashed at the beasts with her sickles, decapitating and disemboweling them with even more ferocity and abandon than before.

Kouki pulled out a twin-sided hand-axe, forged in the shape of an open winged bat, and used it to violently mutilate his targets. After lodging it in an enemy, he used his other hand to attack other enemies with highly accurate blows. Once he pulled his axe free, he returned to attacking with it.

Yumi gracefully swung a long spear at the rats, gouging them on the bat-shaped tip. She then repeatedly thrust the spear into the guts of the enemy, leaving them all spurting blood and guts.

Ryuji ended up using his bow as a melee weapon, the sharpened tips slicing into the rats. He quickly turned on heel, drawing an invisible bowstring. Arrows of blue-light shot from the mouth of the wolf ornamentation on his bow handle, impaling several rat-brains.

The red warrior, Akira, slowly approached the cat creature. The rats tried to attack him, but he casually slashed them with his ornate sword. He drew closer and closer to the cat, slowly lurking closer to it. The monster showed mild signs of panic, though it remained firm in its place. When Akira was right in front of it, the cat monster swiped at him with its claws. Akira casually dodged the swipes of the creature's claws, then hit the beast it the face with the handle of his sword. The creature stumbled, then tried to strike again. Akira swiped it with his sword, not disemboweling it, but still cutting it severely. The cat monster lunged again, but found its throat caught in the hand of the vampire king.

Akira raised his sword into the air, silently signaling to his allies. The others had finished slaughtering their opponents and saw the raised sword. They tossed their weapons in the air. Maneuvered by an unseen force, the weapons began interlocking. The Axe floated upside-down, the sickles linked into the blade at opposite sides of the center, forming another pair of blades. The spear linked into the hilt of the axe, and the bow split in half and linked into the spear, forming a broad sword blade. The combined weapons dropped onto Akira's sword, whose hilt extended.

Akira tossed the cat monster into a wall, grabbed the hilt of the massive blade and impaled the beast into the wall.

The monster cried out in pain as the weapon dug into his body. _"This is just the beginning, vampire!" _It hissed. _"Lord Lupus Rex will devour your heart. The age of the vampire is over!"_

Akira leaned in, towards the beast. "I look forward to the attempt."

"_Lunatick! Forever!"_

"Be sure to share that sentiment with your master," Akira replied. "In Hell!" He pulled out the blade, swung it over his head and decapitated the monster, sending it limp to the ground.

* * *

><p>In the distance, two figures watched the results of the battle. One made a movement, but the other held out its arm, stopping them.<p>

"_**Not Just yet,"**_the figure said. _**"Let the king have this one. He will soon realize the scope of what he is against."**_

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><p>Saki ran to Riku, her strange garb vanishing as unnaturally as it had appeared. She saw the boy was still slumped against the wall. She knelt by him and examined him. The other four also returned to their previous appearances.<p>

Saki turned to the king. "He's still alive," she said. "But he's fading fast. He needs medical help!"

"That is not our concern," the king replied. "He's seen too much, anyway."

"But…" Saki muttered.

"Humans must never know the truth," He continued. "The Code must be upheld."

Saki looked down, sadly. She felt so much guilt over this.

"Unless…" the King said leadingly.

Saki's eyes widened. "But I barely know him!" She stated. "How can I make such a rash decision?"

"It is the only way," the King said. "The choice is yours, Saki. Make it."

With that, the king walked off to his carriage. Yumi followed behind him. Kouki and Ryuji both leaped onto the roofs and vanished into the dark, as the carriage carried Akira and Yumi back into the fog.

Saki, alone now, looked at the young man in her grasp in desperation. She argued with herself whether what her King suggested was right. Finally, her guilt overcame her.

"Forgive me," she said.

Saki's mouth opened, revealing two-inch long canines coming from her upper jaw. Hesitantly, Saki brought her mouth to Riku's neck. The boy's body flinched as the fangs pierced into his neck.

* * *

><p>In this instant, Riku's lonely life came to an end; and a new, secret life had begun.<p>

* * *

><p><em>What world of supernatural horror has Riku been drawn into?<em>

_Who is Lupus Rex? Why is he leading this Deadly Rebellion?_

_The Nightmare Continues…_

TBC


	2. Night 2

Disclaimer: Super Sentai and all related elements are the property of Toei. The writer makes no profit on the contents of this story.

Warning: The contents of these stories do and will continue to contain explicit materials, including detailed descriptions of violence, gore, some nudity and pervasive language. Reader discretion is advised.

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><p>Riku woke in a dark room. He sat up quickly, then grabbed his head as her got dizzy from the sudden motion. After recovering, he looked around. The room itself was well decorated, like a fancy hotel room. The bed he was in seemed to have silk sheets, which Riku thought must be very expensive. He slowly got up from the bed. As he did, he realized he was wearing very different clothes. Briefly, his mind flashed back to the last things he saw.<p>

The monsters… the fighting… the feeling of claws digging into his guts…

"_**Kyuuketsuki… Sentai… Buraddo… renja…"**_

He shook his head. It couldn't have been real, he thought. He walked to the window, which had both curtains drawn. He pulled them apart and was shocked at the sight. The view from this window was far above the city, So high that the clouds were crossing below him.

Though he didn't know it, Riku's current location was a dark castle floating over the tallest tower of the city, surrounded by an aura of darkness. The front of the castle was made as a gruesome visage over a closed drawbridge. The eyes of this visage glowed bright red, and a growling noise seemed to echo from it.

* * *

><p><em>Kyuuketsuki Sentai<em>

_**BloodRanger**_

Night 2

Full Moon Curse; Revive, Blood Machines

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><p>An older gentleman walked into a dark chamber. He was well dressed in formal attire, with graying hair that was slicked back. In the center of the chamber were two thrones, illuminated from the ceiling by a pale light. On the thrones sat Akira and Yumi, with both their eyes closed. As the man stepped into the light, their eyes opened.<p>

"My lord," the old man said. "Mistress Saki's ghoul has awakened."

The Vampires stood and silently walked towards the door. The old man followed at a generous distance as the doors opened before them.

* * *

><p>Riku wandered the hallways. He was unsure what to make of this vast place. He thought it might be a hotel, but realized that none of the buildings in the city got this high. There was also the lack of rooms in the area. In fact, looking back, he could almost swear the room he came from had vanished. He continued down the hallway, despite the lack of direction.<p>

Eventually, he came upon a door. Not certain if he'd ever find another, he entered it. Inside was a rounded table, with five seats surrounding it. The room was illuminated from the ceiling, but remained mostly dark. He walked up to the table. He saw that each chair was marked with a symbol. He quickly recognized them as the symbols he'd seen on Saki and the other's costumes. The seat that had the king's mark was larger and more ornate than the others. He reasoned that made sense if, as Saki had said, the man in the cloak was her King.

Riku still had no idea what to make of the whole situation. Vampires were real? And, even stranger, Sentai were real? That just blew his mind. He'd have geeked out right at that moment if he hadn't been slowly bleeding to death.

He reached to his stomach. There was no sign of that wound. He wondered how he could have possibly…

_Oh, no!_ He reached to his neck. He had just briefly recalled feeling a pain there as he was knocked out. Sure enough, he felt the tell-tale incisions stereotypically associated with vampires. _You've got to be kidding me!_

Just then, the door opened again. In the entrance stood Akira and Yumi, followed by an older man he had never seen before. They walked in slowly and quietly, the doors opening and closing themselves as they passed. The two vampires stood before the young man before them. All was quiet for a second.

Akira reached to his collar and unfastened the cloak. He removed the garment, revealing the face and figure of a lean and rather handsome young man. Under the cloak he wore an old-fashioned white shirt under a red vest and over black pants. Riku was taken slightly aback by this. He really didn't know what to expect, but he never thought the king of the vampires would be so young looking. He then realized how stupid it was to think that, given that vampires were supposed to be Immortal.

The vampire king sighed with relief as he handed the cloak back to the older gentleman. "I don't mind saying, that thing gets a little stuffy after a while," He said.

"I told you to take it off before sleeping, darling," Yumi said. "Honestly, you complain about it, then you end up wearing it all the time."

"Well, a king needs to look presentable before an official visitor," Akira replied. "I don't want to risk being caught without it. It's hard to be intimidating when everyone can see my face, clear as day."

"Yes," Yumi said, nodding. "It's hard to be intimidated by a baby-faced king."

"Now, don't tease me Yumi. We have important matters to attend to here."

"I was merely…"

"Umm…"

Both returned their attention to Riku, who was visibly confused and unnerved by the banter of the two. _This is how vampires act?_ he thought.

"Oh, sorry Riku," the king said politely. "We got a bit carried away there."

"Right…" Riku replied, still off-put.

The king bowed a bit and continued, "I am Akira Alucard Gustav Von Dracula; King Dracula the 13th; Ruler of the Vampires and king of all creatures of the dark."

"Ah… yes…" Riku said, bowing back briefly.

"Yeah, that's a bit long-winded isn't it?" Akira said, chuckling a bit. "You may simply call me 'Akira-sama', if you wish."

"All right," Riku replied.

"And this," Akira continued, motioning to Yumi, "lovely creature standing beside me is Queen Yumi; Formerly Lady Ketsueki; Vassal of the house of Dracul; Member of the Clan of the Soaring Bat; Warrior of the King's etcetera, etcetera. You get the drift."

Yumi smacked the man's shoulder. "Perhaps you should have that cloak fused to your skin, since it seems you can't be proper without it."

"Umm," Riku muttered again. "That's all well and good I suppose, but I have some questions."

"Of course," Akira replied. "And I'm glad to answer them."

"Am I a vampire now?" Riku asked.

Both Akira and Yumi laughed at this.

"Of course not," Akira replied. "Don't you know anything about vampires?"

"I know enough to know that when you're bit by one," he motioned to the mark on his neck, "you become one."

"Oh, child," Yumi replied. "Maybe that's how it works for Lycanthropes, but Vampires aren't quite the same."

"Lai…kan…" Riku replied, confused.

"Shapeshifters," Akira responded. "Creatures able to assume the forms of humanoid beasts. You saw them last night."

Riku remembered the rat-monsters and their felid leader.

"Humans commonly associate Lycanthropes with werewolves," Akira continued. "But, in reality, they can assume any form. Their forms generally mirror their personas in some way."

"I see," Riku replied. "But, if I'm not a vampire…?"

"You're a ghoul," the older man said. "Like me, you are a creature meant to serve the vampires during the day, when they are restricted to their resting place."

"A ghoul?" Riku replied.

"Think of it as a sub-vampiric state," Akira continued. "You will be given a much longer lifespan than a normal human, but not be restricted by our weaknesses. This makes you invaluable to us. Renfield and his family have served my house for countless Generations."

"Quite happily, might I add, my lord," Renfield relied.

"So, I'm the hired help?" Riku asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Don't think of it like that," Akira replied. "We view ghouls as companions more than servants."

"You mean like a pet?" Riku replied, still somewhat incredulous.

Akira wasn't sure how best to answer that, and chuckled nervously at the statement.

"Riku!"

Just then, a familiar looking blonde charged into the room and tackled the boy to the ground. She was wearing very different clothes than the previous night. She now wore a white blouse with exposed shoulders, black pants and a pair of yellow, fingerless gloves.

"Oh, thank the elders! You're alright!" Saki exclaimed as she held the boy firmly. This lasted a few seconds before she released him and slapped him across the face.

Riku barely had a second to recover from the hug before the slap came, and his brain was already racing. "W-wha… What was that for!"

"You idiot! Who asked you to get killed for me?" She replied, glairing angrily at him. "Why would you do something that stupid? Are you so desperate to get in my pants that you'll actually die for me! You can't fuck me if you're dead, stupid!"

"W-what?" Riku asked in shock. "I wasn't… I mean… I was just trying to help you! You could be grateful that I risked my life to…"

In an instant she was hugging him again. "I am grateful," she said in a soft tone. "I really am. I just didn't want you to get hurt; especially for me."

Riku was starting to get mental whiplash. How did this girl change gears so quickly? He found himself looking up to the two royal vampires. They simply shrugged, indicating that they knew what he was wondering.

Saki got up and helped the boy to his feet. "Sorry about all that," she said. "I've just been kinda worried."

"Why were you worried?" he asked. "You saved my life, right? You made me a ghoul to save me."

"Yeaaaaaaaah, but…" she said, nervously scratching her neck. "I was worried I might have screwed up the turning."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well," She continued. "I've never made a ghoul before. Never really needed one, you see. Anyway; in order to make a ghoul, I have to inject you with my venom. Now keep in mind, this rarely happens; but if I had injected too much venom into you, there's a chance you would have died and come back as a brain-dead zombie."

"WHAT!" He exclaimed, envisioning himself as a walking corpse.

"Relax," she said. "Obviously I didn't screw up because you're still alive right now. See?"

Riku shook his head and shouted, "This is too much! Zombies; Vampires; Werewolves; Ghouls; I don't understand anything!" He collapsed the floor and groaned in frustration.

"Oh, dear," Yumi muttered. "He's suffering culture shock."

Akira turned to Renfield. "Renfield," he said, "take him to the ghouls' quarters and calm him down."

"Of course," the older man replied. He walked up to the boy and helped him to his feet. "Come now, young sir. We'll get you settled in."

Renfield lead the boy out of the room. The three vampires watched as they left.

Akira smiled and said, "I think that went well."

Yumi smacked him again.

* * *

><p>Deep below the city, in dark catacombs no one on the surface knew exited, stood the ancient halls of the Lycanthrope race. They had carved the ornate stone halls over the course of centuries; a testament to their power and determination. At the center of the Lycanthrope city there was a great throne room. The chamber was carved of black stone and illuminated by torches with hung on the ornate pillars that lined the walls. Between the pillars stood several statues, each depicting a different animal in an attacking posture.<p>

At the farthest end of the room sat a massive beast atop a black throne. The monster was canine in appearance, with pitch-dark fur and a long black cloak over its massive shoulders. Beside him sat a young woman in a Gothic Lolita costume, curled up by his leg with metal collar around her neck and a chain running to the wolf beast's hand. Before them stood a young woman in combat armor who had long flowing red-orange hair lowing behind her. Beside her stood another creature, clad in armor as well, with the head of a lizard and massive stature.

The woman bowed to her knees as she began to speak. "My lord. Our first attack was a success. We've spread the seeds of fear into humanity, and have drawn the attention of the Royal court in one fell swoop. All is going as you planned, my lord."

The wolf beast let out a guttural growl as he replied. "Yes, Gingitsune. All is proceeding as I knew it would. The nobles will take it upon themselves to resolve this situation. It's only a matter of time before our forces overwhelm them and then we can bring the Vampiric regime to an end. Dragon!"

"Yes, my lord," the reptilian monster replied.

"Do you have a volunteer to begin the next raid on the city?" The wolf asked.

"Several, my lord," Dragon replied. "However, I have one in mind that may suit our needs." He turned to the darkness behind him and called out, "Legarto!"

A man stepped into the light of the chamber. He was lean and muscular with buzzed black hair. He wore an alligator-skin jacket and leather pants and no shirt. The man smiled a grin that seemed almost unnaturally wide as he stood before the court.

"Legarto is a strong warrior," Dragon continued. "He is among the strongest of my vanguard."

"I live to serve, my lord," Legarto added, bowing respectfully.

The lupine beast let out a guttural chuckle of approval. "Excellent," he said. "When night falls, send him and a squadron of were-rats into the city. It's time to show these humans just where they sit in the food-chain."

The whole hall shouted, "FOR THE GLORY OF LUPIS REX! LUNATIC FOREVER!"

"Lunatic Forever," Lupis replied under his breath, a menacing grin spreading over his monstrous face.

* * *

><p>Riku looked at himself in the mirror very skeptically. After being calmed down, Riku had been taken by Renfield to the Ghouls' chambers and taken into a room that was apparently a giant closet of sorts. Inside were clothes for virtually any occasion laid out on a long series of shelves and racks. Renfield had taken a time to find a formal suit and gave it to Riku to put on. Riku put on the suit, if only to try and adapt to his new situation.<p>

The suit was very formal, just a simple black suit over a white shirt. The only stand out was the mark of a yellow wolf's head, which Riku recognized from Saki's transformed appearance, emblazoned on the collar of the jacket.. Riku was unsure if he felt refined or ridiculous wearing clothes like this, but Renfield assured him he looked fine.

After dressing up, Riku followed Renfield to a new room, which seemed to be a library. Books lined the walls, reaching over ten feet high. There was a fireplace, around which sat three individuals. On the left was a tall black man in a similar suit to Riku's, though with Kouki's green bat symbol on the collar. He had buzzed-off hair and a very lean build to him. On the right was a young woman. She had her black hair tied back and wore a leather vest over a white shirt with leather pants. A patch with Ryuji's symbol on it hung from her sleeve. The third sat in front of the fire. She appeared to be a young girl wearing a pink dress. She had long curly hair which held a tiara marked with the bat-symbol in pink.

"My friends," Renfield said, addressing the group, "this is Riku. He is Lady Saki's Ghoul."

The three nodded respectfully.

"Riku," Renfield continued, "these are your fellow ghouls;" he motioned to the man, "Mr. Seward;" he motioned to the woman, "Ms. Morris;" and finally to the girl, "and Ms. Lucy."

Riku bowed respectfully. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"Welcome to the family," Seward said, walking up and embracing the young man.

Riku strained to breathe as the tall man's embrace proved incredibly strong.

"Uh, Seward," Morris said, "I think he needs to breathe now."

The man released the boy and laughed. "Sorry kid," he said. "I sometimes forget myself."

"It's alright," Riku gasped, trying to regain his breath.

"Mr. Seward is Lord Kouki's ghoul," Renfield stated. "He trains daily with his master in physical combat, making him one of the few who can stand on equal footing with him."

"I see," Riku replied, still sore.

Morris came up next, shaking his hand. "I'm Ryuji's ghoul," she said. "I mostly maintain his bow and arrows for him. You can call me Anne."

"Nice to meet you Anne," Riku said, glad she seemed to have a more gentle touch.

Lucy also came up. "Nice to meet you, Riku," she said in a sweet voice. "I make tea for Queen Yumi and everyone. Do you like tea?"

"Yeah, sure," Riku replied. He leaned down and asked, "Say, how old are you?"

"Nineteen," she replied with a big smile.

Riku shot up in shock and turned to Renfield, who nodded, confirming the truth. "Nineteen?" Riku asked.

"As his Highness said," Renfield replied, "We age much slower than humans. I believe you will only be more surprised if you ask all our ages."

"That's okay," Riku said, rubbing the confusion out of his head with his hand. "Well, now that I know who everyone is, can someone point me to a phone? I need to call my parents. They're probably worried sick about me."

The mood suddenly shifted from amicable to concerned. All the others gave Riku a disheartened look, which left the boy very confused.

"What?" he asked. "What did I say?"

"Riku, did Renfield not tell you?" Morris asked.

"Tell me what?" Riku asked.

"I was waiting for the opportune moment," Renfield replied, sternly yet sullenly.

"What?" Riku repeated. "Tell me what?"

"Mister Riku," Renfield said. "You were reported as killed during the fight with the Lycanthropes. As far as the human world is concerned, you are no longer living."

"WHAT?" Riku exclaimed. "You're kidding! Why hasn't anyone called my family? They have to know…"

"They can never know, sir," Renfield stated flatly.

The strength of his voice stunned Riku to silence.

"Please, my boy, try to understand," Renfield continued. "Humanity is still a violent and suspicious species. They cannot trust that which is truly beyond them. Keeping the creatures of the dark from their notice is the only thing maintaining the peace in this world. If humanity knew that the monsters of their myths were real, it would be a return to the dark-ages. For the sake of all; human; vampire; lycanthrope; all creatures of darkness; the truth must remain forever hidden."

"But…" Riku tried to reply, stopped by the realization that it all made sense. This caused him to shed tears as he realized he would never see his family again.

"I'm sorry, my boy," Renfield said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But, it is for their sake too."

Riku shrugged off the hand and ran out of the room. Morris moved to follow, but Renfield held an arm out to block her. "I shall inform Lady Saki," he said. " I believe she will want to be the one who talks to him."

* * *

><p>Legarto walked down the busy city street, a wide grin still plastered across his face. He brushed past the people in the street, not paying any mind to their complaints of his rudeness. As he walked, he saw another man standing to the side, wearing similar attire to his. His clothes were a darker green, and his hair was more grown out, but the two looked fairly similar to one another otherwise. The only other difference was the deep, angry frown marking his face.<p>

Legarto stopped and turned to the man. "How's things, Aniki?"

The man did not speak.

"What's wrong Sucus?" Legarto asked jovially. "Jealous little brother got the honor of slaying the royal Bloodys? Ne? Ne? Come on! Don't be such a hard-ass! I'll save you a piece of Vamp meat. We'll make a feast out of it! A celebration of our victory."

Sucus still remained silent.

"Ah, fuck you," Legarto said as he continued walking off. "Almost night anyway. I got work to do!"

Before he could walk far, Legarto heard something.

"I will avenge your death."

Legarto laughed out loud at that. He continued walking, not noticing that the other man had simply vanished from sight.

* * *

><p>Saki wandered the halls for some time. She eventually found the target of her search, as she knew she would. He was seated before a large, tinted window that looked out over the city. The sun was going down behind the buildings, creating the kind of image any photographer would gladly take. She sat down next to him, both of them remaining silent as they watched the setting sun.<p>

"How did you find me?" Riku asked after a time.

"Same way as I did the first time," She replied. "Followed your scent."

Riku turned his eyes to her; silently asking for an explanation.

"The time we first met," she continued. "I followed your scent to determine the path you take home. You take the same path home every night, so your scent was imprinted on the ground. That's what I meant when I said 'I was following you'."

Riku returned his gaze to the window.

"I'm really sorry," She continued. "I just… I don't know. I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright," Riku responded.

Saki turned and looked at the boy with surprise.

"If I'm honest," he continued, "I didn't really leave too much behind. I had no friends; Just school and home. Really, the only ones who will miss me are my parents."

"That's still a lot to give up," Saki said.

Riku shrugged.

They returned to silence for a time, as the sun continued to set over the city.

Eventually, Riku spoke again. "Saki," he said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Why are you guys Super Sentai?"

Saki's eyes widened. Then she laughed out loud at that. "I suppose we kind of are, at that!" she responded, still laughing.

"But why?" Riku asked again.

"I don't know," Saki replied with a big smile. "Just a coincidence I guess. Maybe someone saw us in the seventies and ripped us off. All I know is, the Blood Gear definitely predates all that crap."

"So, you're the real Super Sentai," Riku said. "Kyuuketsuki Sentai Bloodranger."

"Blood-what?" Saki asked.

"It's the last thing I remember thinking before passing out," Riku responded. "I saw the way you looked after you transformed and that name just came to me."

Saki's expression changed to a thoughtful one. "Blood-ran-ger, huh?" She said slowly. "I like that!"

"R-really?" Riku said in surprise. "It's kinda dorky, isn't it?"

"Well, duh!" Saki replied. "But it's kinda cool too."

The girl jumped to her feet excitedly. She held out a fist and declared, "It's settled then. From now on, we're Kyuuketsuki Sentai Bloodranger!"

Riku cocked his head in incredulity. "Can you really just decide that for yourself?"

"Hey! I can talk people into all kinds of stupid things," she said proudly. "Just you wait."

_Saki!_

Riku shot up in surprise. He could swear he heard a voice, but he couldn't tell from where. It felt like it came from everywhere at once. All he knew for certain was that it was the King's voice.

_The Lycanthropes are acting again,_ the voice continued. _Come to the war room._

"Yes! Akira-Sama!" she said sternly, proving to Riku that the voice was real.

"Wh-what…?" Riku stuttered.

"Get a grip, Riku," Saki stated, pulling him to his feet by his shoulder. "It's just telepathy. Come on!"

With that, she took off down the halls. Not wanting to be left behind, Riku chased after her; following down the twisted hallways.

Within virtually no-time, both arrived in the same chamber Riku had found earlier that day. All four of the other nobles were present, standing around a crystal orb that Riku was certain wasn't there before.

"Finally found the new-blood," Ryuji stated. "Hope he didn't wet the carpet or anything."

"Don't make me lop your nuts off, Ryuji," Saki replied, drawing her sickle from seemingly nowhere again. "It's not like I'm not already tempted."

"Jeez, ease off Saki-chan," He replied casually. "I was only joking."

"Enough!" Akira commanded, showing more seriousness than he had before. "We have no time for banter."

Riku watched in awe as the crystal began projecting an image into the open air above it. No one else was surprised by the fact that the crystal could do that, but they all watched intently as the image showed more rat-men, tearing into a crowd of humans in a train terminal.

"My god!" Riku exclaimed.

"This has gotten out of hand," Yumi said as she stood beside the king. "I can't believe they're being so reckless!"

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Riku asked.

"Don't be a moron!" Saki stated. "Of course we are. Bloodranger doesn't let crap like this go unpunished!"

"Bloodranger?" Ryuji said, looking at her incredulously. "What? Did the kid come up with that? Ridiculous."

"Hey!" Saki exclaimed, wielding the sickle again. "I'm not warning you again! Anyway, I think it's cool. Way better than the Council of Four-whatevers! I've always thought we needed a less stuck-up sounding name!"

Riku, worried that his little slip might cause a bloody incident, tried to calm Saki down. "Saki! Really, it's not that important."

Kouki, who had stood to the side with his arms crossed, shook his head. "Only Veria-san would think such an idea was tasteful," he muttered.

"How tacky," Yumi said, shaking her head disdainfully. "Honestly, dear, can you imagine us using such…"

"I like it!" Akira exclaimed suddenly.

The whole room fell silent. Everyone stared at the young looking vampire king, who only seemed to smile kindly in response.

"Y-you do?" Riku managed to squeeze out, past his disbelief.

"Of course," Akira replied. "Saki's right! All this stuffy terminology has gotten tiresome. I personally feel a change of pace might be exhilarating."

"But it's so stupid sounding," Ryuji muttered before Saki smacked him over the head.

"I say, we try Saki's idea," Akira replied. "And since I'm king, I'm certain none of you object to that. _Right?" _

The final word carried a dark menace that seemed to stun the men into rapidly nodding in agreement. Saki responded with a bright smile and excited giggling. Yumi simply put a hand to her head and muttered phrases of disbelief.

"Good," Akira said, his face returning to a serious expression. "Now that that's settled, let's go. We've wasted too much time quarreling."

Akira retrieved his cloak from the throne and threw it on. As he did, he suddenly vanished, his body fading into a red mist that shot through the light in the ceiling. The others all changed too. Yumi and Kouki became a pair of small pink and green bats, respectively. Ryuji and Saki transformed into a blue and a yellow wolf before Ryuji, Yumi and Kouki all leaped or flew into the same spot.

Wolf-Saki turned to the still awestruck Riku. _Watch us on the crystal,_ She said mentally. _This is gonna be awesome!_

Riku watched, dazedly, as the yellow wolf leaped into the light and out of sight.

"Vampires are weird," was all he could think to say.

* * *

><p>The rats poured from the terminal's exits and onto the streets, immediately biting into any passers-by and devouring them. In the midst of the carnage, Legarto casually walked out of the station in his human form. He stood by the exit and waited for his prey to arrive. His grin slowly got even more unusually wide.<p>

* * *

><p>The vampires left the invisible castle via a special passage meant only for them. The wolves leaped from building to building while the bats fluttered above them. The red mist surrounded them all, obscuring them from what few observers there might be.<p>

As they traveled, Saki laid out her ideas, vis-à-vis Bloodranger, to the others telepathically. Under the king's orders, the others all listened incredulously to the thoughts of their over-excited comrade.

_Darling,_ Bat-Yumi projected into the mist, _as your wife, your queen, and your most trusted consort, I feel I can say this with impunity. This is the single most idiotic thing that you've ever gotten behind!_

_Humor me, love,_ the mist projected back. _This isn't just about Saki. It's about the boy too. It's important that they maintain a connection to each other. They have to. They're going to be together for a long time._

_But do they have to bond over this?_

The mist seemed to laugh at the tiny pink bat.

* * *

><p>Legarto stood quietly, taking in all the madness around him with great pleasure. He barely even noticed the five figures seemingly appearing out of thin air, if not for the tell-tale smell of vampiric blood. He turned to the five vampiric nobles, his grin never wider.<p>

"Took you long enough," he said. "I was beginning to think you had all tucked your fangs between your legs and bit it!"

"How Vulger!" Kouki exclaimed. "You dare speak so in front of the King! I will tear out your tongue before I cut off your head!"

Legarto flashed razor-sharp teeth. "You're welcome to try, Bloody!"

A dark aura surrounded the man as his form shifted. He grew larger, his clothes tearing to reveal scales underneath. The result was a massive reptilian monstrosity with a long snout. The edges of the mouth were curled into a horrible grin.

"_I'm going to gnaw your bones, you Bloody shits!"_ the monster snarled.

"Not much more elegant as a freak, is he?" Ryuji asked jovially.

"Most ungentlemanly," Yumi agreed.

"_Fuck you!"_ he replied. _"Fuck you, and your sensibilities! Kill them!"_

The Rats charged at the vampires. The king's eyes glowed red, and the rat's suddenly found themselves in a thick fog. The monsters flailed about angrily as they tried to find their prey.

Legarto roared, then laughed maniacally. _"Come on out! I promised my brother dinner! I intend to deliver!"_

"Your brother will have to settle for takeout!"

Legarto followed the sound of the young woman's voice to a nearby rooftop, where the five had reappeared.

"Now just hold your tail, shithead!" continued Saki, who had called out before. "You have the very special privilege of seeing our first role-call!"

"_Huh?"_

"I can't believe we're really doing this," Ryuji muttered.

"Everyone!" Akira called out, lifting his Blood Gear Brace. "Henshin!"

"Wrong franchise, darling," Yumi said as she and the others held up their own transformation devices.

"_**BLOOD GEAR!"**_

They cut their hands on the braces and lifted them into the air as their transformations reoccurred. The black bands bound them into their new forms and the five stood, transformed, high over their enemies.

Akira threw forward his right hand, with his fingers bent like claws. As he slowly brought the hand to his left shoulder, he said dramatically, _**"Crimson Mist…"**_ He brought both arms to his chest, left over right, held at an angle that had the left hand pointing up and the right point down._** "…BLOOD…"**_ After swinging them about, he repositioned his arms so that the left was held out straight and the right was bent to the left shoulder. _**"…RED!"**_

Ryuji repeated the first arm movement of his king. When his hand reached his shoulder, he tsk'ed with mild disdain before stating, _**"Hunting Wolf…"**_ He thrust forward both arms, right hand over left, hands close together, fists pointing towards each other with only the index and pinky fingers extended. _**"…BLOOD…"**_ Spreading his legs, he spread his arms up and down. _**"…BLUE!"**_

Kouki also repeated the first arm movement. _**"Striking Bat…"**_He brought both arms together, striking the fore-arms together over his chest. _**"…BLOOD…"**_ He spread his arms, fore-arms bent up with the fingers splayed. _**"…GREEN!"**_ He clenched his fists on the final word.

Saki also repeated the first gesture. _**"Howling Wolf…"**_ She brought her hands together in front of her hips. _**"…BLOOD…"**_ She slowly raised the arms straight into the air, bending her right knee, her hips turned to the side in a seductive pose. _**"…YELLOW!"**_

Yumi completed the pattern of repeating the first gesture. _**"Soaring Bat…" **_She crossed her arms, hands open, over her stomach. _**"…BLOOD…"**_ She turned to the right, locked her legs together and flung out her arms in a very ballet-esque pose. _**"…PINK!"**_

"_What the fuck is this?"_ Legarto cried out.

Akira brought his left arm to his side and passed his right fist over his face as he declared, _**"We are the True Super Sentai of Darkness!" **_He then brought his feet together and crossed his arms over his chest like a corpse. The others all performed the same movement. _**"Kyuuketsuki Sentai…"**_

"_**BLOOOOOOODRANGER"**_ With this simultaneous cry, they flung their arms to the side dramatically.

_Not bad!_ Kouki, Yumi and Ryuji inadvertently thought simultaneously.

"See!" Bloodyellow declared. "You guys think it's cool too! So no more giving me shit!"

The three looked off dismissively, trying to shove such a notion aside.

Legarto laughed out loud. _"What the fuck was all that!"_ he asked. _"Have you all gone senile in your old age?"_

"Hey!" Bloodyellow declared. "I happen to be really young in Vampire years!"

"Honestly," Bloodpink continued. "I think I should do something quite unladylike to you for making light of my age, you vulgar lizard."

"We may seem absurd," Bloodgreen added, "but we shall still send you and your ilk to the dark gods of death!"

"I personally intend to put an arrow through your brain," Bloodblue said. "It should be small enough to be a highly impressive shot."

"You and your lackeys shall pay for breaking the Code of the Dark!" Bloodred cried out. "Bloodranger, Attack!"

The five warriors dived down from the roof and into the fray.

Each warrior drew their weapon and used it to slay the rats. Green swung his axe in broad arcs, disemboweling each of his targets with ease. Blue rapid-fired his arrows into several monsters' heads before using the bladed bow itself to slice into them. He continued alternating between shots and swings throughout the brawl. Yellow gracefully twirled through the mob of rats coming at her, using her sickles to gouge the monsters as she passed. Pink swung her spear in circles around her body, slashing several rats with the tip, before using the staff of the spear to strike the others that surrounded her in a series of graceful blows.

* * *

><p>In the castle, Riku watched intently at the conflict. Though obviously more violent, he couldn't help but feel the same nostalgia he had felt when he'd seen the newly-dubbed Bloodranger for the first time. He still couldn't fully grasp what exactly he felt about all this. What he did know was that a large part of him was really enjoying it. Whether that was good or bad he'd decide later.<p>

* * *

><p>Bloodred drove through the hordes, his sword decimating all in his path as he drove towards Legarto. Once he reached the beast, he immediately swung his sword at him. The blade sparked when it struck his shoulder. Legarto laughed. Red quickly realized that the blade had failed to pierce the creature's scales. Legarto grabbed the blade itself and punched Bloodred in the face, causing him to fly back while losing his grip on the sword.<p>

Tossing the blade asside, Legarto continued to laugh. "_Stupid Bloody,"_ he taunted. _"I'm nowhere near as weak as that stupid fuzz-ball you slaughtered yesterday. I'm Legarto, one of Lord Dragon's vanguard. I am not some cannon fodder rat or lousy cat. I'm a cut above!"_

Bloodred casually sat up, sighing in annoyance. He held out his hand, and his sword immediately flew to him, lopping off the legs of one of the Rats that was in its way. He caught the telekinetically propelled blade with ease and stood up. He rolled his shoulder, and then ran into battle again. Legarto once again caught his blade when it was swung, this time with both hands. He knew that the Red warrior would fight back, but didn't expect the sudden kick to his abdomen. He'd felt strong attacks before. Most simply bounced off his hard scales. This, however, actually hurt. He released the blade with one claw before swinging at Bloodred. Red dodged the swipe and leaped up, still holding the hilt of his blade, and kicked the monster in the face. This time, Legarto lost his grip and fell.

Bloodred stood over the beast, pointing his sword at his face. "You could be the most powerful warrior of all the shifters and it would make no difference," He said. "There's a reason why Vampires have always ruled. It's because no other creature can compare to us. You might be one of the strongest of your kind, but even the least of mine is greater than you."

"_Bullshit!"_ Legarto exclaimed. He kicked out at Bloodred, who leaped out of the way. The monster leaped up, roaring angrily at the Red warrior.

Having finished slaying the other lycanthropes, the remaining Bloodrangers gathered around Bloodred.

"Having fun dear?" Bloodpink joked.

Red scoffed. "Hardly even a good workout."

The monster roared again, rearing up to attack. He leaped at them, but was stuck down by an unexpected punch from Bloodgreen. He was flung into a nearby wall, creating an impressive indent in it.

"Impudent lizard," Green said, flexing his fist. "How do you wish to end him my lord?"

"I think the second formation will do nicely," Red replied. "Just make sure to aim for the mouth when ready. I'll make sure it's ready for you."

"As you command," Green replied as he held his axe out before him.

Red ran at the monster while the others began combining their weapons manually. Yellow attached her sickles to the flat sides of the axe blades. Green then flipped it around as Blue divided his bow, attaching the parts to the other side of the axe. Green held the weapon by his side, using the handle of the sickle as a support, and was joined by Blue, who held the other handle. Pink loaded her spear into the center of the axe, with the shaft sticking out the back, as she and Yellow took their positions at their male counterparts' shoulders.

Meanwhile, Red managed to catch the beast while it was still recovering and drive his sword into its mouth. Legarto proved lucid enough to bite down, stopping the blade from piercing the back of his mouth. However, he didn't foresee the Red warrior rapidly twisting the blade inside the mouth of the beast, gashing the sides. Legarto's jaw suddenly dropped and the blade was pulled out.

Legarto grunted, trying to speak but unable to close his jaw.

"I severed the tendons that support your jaw," Red said in answer to an unaskable question. "Looks like your inside isn't as tough as the outside."

He leaped and kicked off the monster's chest, throwing him off balance while Red was propelled over the rest of his allies. He threw down his sword, causing it to connect to the new combined weapon, as he landed behind his allies.

Legarto struggled to regain balance, but was in such pain that he couldn't focus.

"_Crimson Shot!"_ Bloodred declared as he ran forward and delivered a powerful kick to the extended shaft of Pink's Spear. The weapon shot out a red arc of energy that flew into the mouth of the beast, decapitating the monster at the mouth. It's head flew off and landed several feet away as a huge geyser of blood shot from the beast's neck. The body collapsed in a bloody mess.

* * *

><p>"YES!" Riku exclaimed as he watched the final blow.<p>

"Enjoying yourself?"

Riku flinched at the sudden voice, but quickly recognized Renfield standing beside him.

"It would seem they were successful," Renfield continued.

Riku nodded. "They really are amazing," he said.

Suddenly, the light in the room turned red. Riku looked up in confusion, meaning to ask what this meant, but being cut off before asking.

"Oh dear," Renfield had said as soon as the light changed. "I best ready the carriage. Things are going to get rather messy in a moment."

"What do you mean?" Riku asked. "What's this red light mean?"

"Continue to observe the crystal," Renfield replied. "Things are about to get very interesting."

* * *

><p>The Bloodrangers also noticed the change of color, as the sky itself had begun to glow red. The Red light came from the moon, which had been a half moon before, but was now full and glowing red. They could all detect the faint sound of arcane chanting on the air, but could not pin-down the source. The strangeness of the situation was punctuated by the body of Legarto suddenly sitting up. The body then seemed to be drawn to its feet by an unseen force, which also seemed to act on it's severed head, which was now floating towards its body.<p>

"The Full Moon Curse," Bloodblue said. "Been a while since we've seen this."

Bloodred raised his left arm and spoke into the Blood Gear brace. "Renfield," he said. "Move the castle over us."

"_Already on our way sir,"_ came the reply from the device. "_We're nearly over you now, and I've readied the carriage."_

"Good man," Red said.

The monster's body started to pulse, unnervingly. With each pulse, the creature seemed to grow in size. As this was going on, the unseen castle floated over the city, coming to a stop directly over the monster. A dark fog seeped from the castle's base, covering the area in a shroud of darkness. Inside the shroud, the monster was reaching gargantuan size, loosing any humanoid aspect and becoming a monstrous giant alligator. The Bloodranger had leaped to the roof of a nearby building, one tall enough that they could look down at the beast.

"I still can't believe someone actually cast the Full Moon Curse," said Bloodblue.

"Whoever's behind all this," Bloodyellow said, "he must be really tough to get a witch to serve him."

"This does not bode well," Bloodgreen said. "It's not going to be easy to keep this madness from the human's attention."

"That's why we have the Shadow Field, Kouki," Bloodpink replied. "It was actually a brilliant foresight to have the field made extendable over the city."

"Thank you dear," Bloodred said in his more amicable tone. He then raised up his left arm and talked into the Blood Gear Brace again. "Renfield, send the carriage."

The monstrous alligator flailed about, crashing into nearby buildings. The building broke, but did not fall. A strange energy suspended the materials if the buildings in the air as the monster damaged them. It paid this no mind, as its mind was reduced to primal instinct. It did, however, notice the loud sounds. These sounds resembled the clopping of horses' hooves, and it drew closer. From the dark fog surrounding it, the monster saw the emergence of a gigantic carriage. This carriage was drawn by two massive metal horses which let out calls that mixed a horse's call with a steam-engine's whistle. They halted in the middle of the street, allowing the Bloodrangers to enter the carriage through a hidden panel.

Inside, each Bloodranger found him or her self in a coffin-like control-seat. Green and Pink were paired in a single darkened area, as were Blue and Yellow. Red was in a solo area. The roof of the carriage opened up and folded to the side, revealing three massive metal coffins which emerged in a circular formation. Each was marked with one of the three symbols of the Bloodranger.

Bloodred crossed his arms over his chest and called out, _"BLOOD MACHINE, LAUNCH!"_

The three coffins opened, revealing three massive mechanoids. One was a giant metal bat with wings that moved and flowed like a living bat's. This machine immediately flew from its coffin and into the sky. The next was a massive wolf-mech which also leaped out instantly, leaping from building to building towards the monster. The final coffin opened to reveal a humanoid mech, which stepped out of the coffin before doing a massive forward flip onto the ground below.

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Riku's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "MECHA?" He exclaimed. "They have Mecha too?" _This is getting ridiculous,_ he thought.

* * *

><p>The three mecha encircled the massive beast, which growled angrily at them. The humanoid mecha stood in a defensive stance in front of the beast. The wolf-mech growled challengingly while the bat circled above them.<p>

"Let's make this quick," Bloodred commanded from his cockpit. "Blood Wolf, you hold it in place. Blood Bat will stun it. Dai-Alucard and I will finish it."

Images of his comrades in their dual cockpits appeared on the glass dome which allowed Bloodred to see outside his mecha. They all nodded in agreement as their mecha began to act.

Pods on Blood Wolf's shoulder's opened, revealing two sets of metal jaws in each. Its pilots shouted, _"Cerberus Attack!"_ as the jawed pods launched from the mech on chains and clasped onto the gator's back. It leaped behind the massive animal and pulled back, using its chains to force it into a standing position.

The bat mech soared down the street. It's mouth opened as its pilots cried out, _"Sonic Bullet!" _The bat let out loud shrieks, causing a series of semi-transparent pulses to shoot through the air. These pulses slammed into the monster's stomach, causing spurts of blood to form.

The monster hung limply from the chains as Dai-Alucard ran at it, wielding a giant strait-sword. It came to its senses enough to perceive the giant robot running at it. An image flashed in its mind of Bloodred attacking it with his sword. As Dai-Alucard thrust the sword forward, the beast caught it in its jaws, sideways, and twisted it out of the mecha's hand.

The monster gator's right arm suddenly grew into a humanoid arm and punched Dai-Alucard, knocking the mech on its back. It's other limbs began to turn humanoid as it used its hands to rip the metal clamps from its back, tearing a considerable amount of flesh with them, and using them to pull Blood Wolf into a spinning toss. The wolf-mech was tossed into its bat counterpart and the two mecha fell to the ground.

By the time the three mechs had recovered, the monster was completely changed. It had a predominantly humanoid body, but the massive alligator head from it's previous form stuck out of its torso, roaring loudly.

"Damn," came Bloodpink's voice, "It's ascended to the second stage, already."

"This Full Moon Curse is really powerful," Bloodyellow added.

"My king," said Bloodgreen. "What shall we do now."

"I'd think that's obvious, Kouki," Bloodred replied. "We use our own second form."

"Combining?" exclaimed Bloodblue's voice. "But we've never actually used that."

"There's a first time for everything, Ryuji," Bloodred said. "The Shadow Field will only hold effect over this area for so long. We need to end this quickly."

The four others nodded.

Dai-Alucard leaped to the top of a nearby sky-scraper. Shockingly, the building held its weight. Blood Wolf landed on an adjacent building while Blood Bat hovered in the air above them.

"_**Kyuuketsuki Gattai!"**_

"_Stage 1! BREAK DOWN!"_ Bloodred called out as his mech launched into the air. It's lower legs disconnected from its thighs, which folded into its torso. Its arms folded back and collapsed in at the elbows as the chest plate disconnected from the torso and its detached legs flipped around and folded out.

"_BREAK DOWN!"_ called Blood Bat's pilots. The bat's wings detached as the body divided. The tail section detached as the body split into three parts. The bat head folded in as the parts hovered in the air.

"_BREAK DOWN!" _The Blood Wolf's pilots repeated as their mech leaped into the air. The mech's tail and rear panel detached together before splitting again. A metal helmet also detached from underneath the mech. The rest of it split into three parts. The head folded down in the central part. The fore-legs folded into the side-parts, while the hind-legs extended fully.

"_Stage 2! BUILD UP!"_

The Legs of Dai-Alucard came in from the side and linked over the body. The chest-piece locked over the front abdominal area while the Blood Wolf's rear panel locked over the rear. The sides of the wolf-mech linked into Dai-Alucard, forming legs. The pods opened into feet. The central bodies of each animal mech locked into the sides, forming shoulders. The body parts of the bat formed fore-arms and the wings attached to the back of each shoulder. Clawed hands extended from the fore-arms. These were made to reach up and grab the floating helmet above them. They pulled it over Dai-Alucard's face as a mask locked over the mech's mouth and a pair of fins extended from the sides of the head. The silver panels on the chest folded out into a skull-like face on the torso and a sharp hiss could be heard as the mouth opened.

"_**Kyuuketsuki-Oh, DAI-DRAAAAAACULA!"**_

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Riku was now completely collapsed on the floor of the chamber, his head spinning. "Giant… robot… uhh…" was all he could verbalize.

* * *

><p>The predominantly black mecha landed before the massive beast. Its five pilots now were in one command space and looked out of the mecha at their quarry.<p>

"It's time to put an end to this," Bloodred commanded.

The mecha held forward its arms as the giant beast ran at them. _**"Dracula Knuckle!"**_At the command, the fore-arms of the mecha shot off and collided, fist- first, with the approaching beast. The monster was knocked down as Dai-Dracula's arms returned to it.

While the beast remained on the ground, Dai-Dracula leaped into the air above it. _**"Cerberus Kick!"**_ The sharp fangs on the feet of the mecha extended longer as it readied to drop down on the giant monster. However, the beast caught the legs in its claws and flailed the giant mech around, slamming it against nearby buildings. It let go, flinging the mech wildly into the city. Dai-Dracula extended its wings, regaining balance before landing again.

"He's a fighter this one," Bloodpink remarked. "Still, at least we're finally putting this thing through its paces."

"But the Shadow Field is at its limit," Bloodblue said as he observed the arcane symbols displaying before them. "If we're going to end this, it has to be now."

"Agreed," Bloodred replied. _"Kyuuketsuki Ken!"_

The remaining parts of the mechs, Dai-Alucard's sword, Blood Bat's tail-section and Blood Wolf's tail, formed together into a large curved sword. Dai-Dracula wielded the heavy weapon with force. It lifted the blade in the air, the tip suddenly glowing red. It slowly waved the sword in a circular manner. As the blade move it created a line of red that seemed to flow like blood in the air. Completing the arc, it brought the sword to its shoulder as the monster charged at it.

"_**CRIMSON NIGHT…"**_

It brought the sword up.

"…_**CRASH!"**_

The swing of the sword created a torrent of red that cut through the body of the beast. It stood for a moment before its upper torso slid off along the cut, the two halves crumbling to the ground.

The eyes of the mech's skull-face glowed red as its jaws opened wide. _**"ITADAKIMASU!"**_ called a loud, booming voice.

The monster's blood began to pour from its body, pulled through the air by an unseen force and drawn into the mouth of the skull-face. As the blood drained, the body faded into nothingness, disintegrating into dust.

After finishing the blood, Dai-Dracula extended its wings and flew upwards into the castle. As it did, the fog lifted. As the fog lifted, the structures that had been damaged in the fight began to reassemble themselves. It was as if they were breaking apart in reverse. Soon, there was no sign of the conflict at all.

* * *

><p>Inside the castle, the five vampires, now returned to their normal forms, reentered the meeting chamber to find Riku still in a daze on the floor.<p>

"Oh dear," Yumi said. "He's gone mental now."

Saki bent down by the boy's head and poked it. "Yep, he's out of it," she said. "Poor little otaku couldn't take it."

Akira smiled and chuckled a bit. "Saki, I think you'd best take him to his room," he said. "I think we need to let him process everything."

"As you command," She said, giving a quick bow before hauling the boy up onto her shoulder.

The four watched as Saki carried the boy out of the chamber and into the hall.

"This is getting rather unpleasant," Yumi said after thy had gone. "If these Lycanthropes do have a witch helping them, then we're going to have a hell of a fight on our hands."

Akira nodded, his expression solemn. "Contact the Lycanthrope Minister. I want any information he has on this 'Lunatic' movement. It's time I knew my enemy."

* * *

><p>In an alley in the street, Sucus stood stoically, unmoving as people moved past him on the sidewalk. One person paused. He had noticed the man and walked up to ask him what he was doing. This person was dead before he could even utter a single word, dragged into the darkness at lightning fast speed and decapitated with a single bite. Crimson eyes shone in the darkness and a word was hissed with poisonous intent.<p>

"_Revenge…"_

To Be Continued

* * *

><p>AN<p>

Finally Done. Delayed after losing the flash drive containing the file; not once, but TWICE!

Probably a bit rushed at the end, but really, I just wanted to get this chapter finished.

Links in the text lead to my deviant art page where the mecha designs, as well as character designs, are available. I'm sure you all can fill in the gaps. Hopefully will manage to carry on with more chapters. I have a lot of ideas for this series and I've barely started.

More explanations in Episode 3 for sure.

Please Read and Review.


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